Getting children to sleep in own bed?

Question

Any parents who co sleep with thier children
have problems later on down the road getting thier kids to sleep in thier own bed

I hear some stories how breastfeeding moms sleep with thier children and later on get them to thier own bed once theyre not breastfeeding anymore, but i hear others that cant get thier child out of thier bed and theyre like 7!

I dont need to hear about rolling over and safety
i know all that, thats not what im asking.

Im asking what is the difference on getting a child used to thier own bed, is it having the child sleep in thier own bed during naps during the day, putting the child back in thier own bed after theyve falling alseep, doing this at a certain age etc.

Just wondering ♥

Answer 1

I co slept with both of my children. My daughter was around 3 and a half when she started consistantly sleeping in her own room, and my son was right at 4. When they're ready, and when you make a bedtime routine for them and let them know that you are still there for them when they need you, they will go to their own bed without problems.

Answer 2

My husband and I are also slowly weaning our 17 month old off of sharing our bed with us. It will be tough at first. What worked for us is first get him used to going to sleep in his own bed, so he won't be startled if he wakes up in it. Slowly start increasing the time that he sleeps in his own crib, but let him join you on nights that he is really fussy or not feeling well. Unless our son is miserable with teething, he'll sleep in his own bed from 8pm until about 5am, then he comes and snuggles in our bed for a few more hours before waking. It works nicely, everyone sleeps better and we still enjoy being able to snuggle with him a bit in the morning.

Answer 3

I had both of my children in my bed and didnt know what i was going to do to get them in there own bed but i did it.I bought them new beds that they wanted and just started with the nap of the day and giving them a teddy and told them that they r big now so they have to sleep in big beds by them selfs. That night i just put on a really relaxing movie untill they fell asleep from then on no more kids in my bed!

Answer 4

My feeling is that children who are allowed to move into their own beds when they are ready tend to do so with very little difficulty. Children who are 'pushed' to sleep alone before they are ready tend to resist, and these are the kids who are still in their parent's beds at 7 or beyond.

When my daughter was 2, I set up her room with a twin bed and told her that it was her room and her bed and she could sleep there whenever she was ready. A few weeks after her 4th birthday, she announced that she was ready to sleep in her own bed. In the beginning, I laid down with her until she fell asleep, then I started just sitting with her, and now I tuck her in, kiss her goodnight, and she easily falls asleep on her own. I do welcome her back into my bed if she has a bad dream or just needs an occasional night with mom.

Answer 5

A bassinette beside the bed is the best idea. The older a baby gets, the harder it is to bend them to your will. If you are certain that you don't want your 2-3-4 year-old sleeping with you, then don't start them off in your bed. Start them in a bassinette, move them to a crib and then to a toddler bed. Bedtime is bedtime, no arguments, no waking them up when you go to bed, no problems. Co-sleeping was done back in the day when there weren't enough beds for everyone. It causes strain on your marriage and confuses your baby.

Answer 6

Hi Stephanie - we just told our son he was getting to big to sleep with us - I think he was 4. I told him he could sleep beside me on the floor or his own bed. He chose beside me on the floor for a few days, then went to his own bed. He still had the choice of coming to my room and lay on the floor beside me - but he couldn't be in the bed. There was a few nights of him crying that he wanted to be with me in the bed - but we got through it. Sometimes it meant I had to hold his hand over the side of the bed - and that was no problem for me. He is now 9 and still once every few months I might find him beside my bed when I get up in the morning. It was a very hard adjustment for me also!

Answer 7

I look at it as this.. You can never go back to the days you've had. I let my son, who is 5 months old, sleep in my bed at night whe he is fussy.. Sometimes, he wants to be left alone. Try laying your child down during the day. He/she might take a nap on their own. Sometimes he/she just wants his mommy :o)

Answer 8

i know from experience it is so hard i was a single mom when i had my daughter and she slept in the bed with me till she was 4 and then mommy got married and it was time for her big girl bed but she didnt want to sleep in another room by herself and finally she just did it and when she did we bought her a little gift because she had and since then i have not had any problems

Answer 9

My son stayed in my bed until he was about 6 weeks old. At that point it started getting chilly at night and I was concerned about him in bed with the blankets so we transitioned him to his crib. We started by waiting until he was asleep and then placing him in at night and during naps. After a few nights he went in fine. I think one thing that helped was his pacifier; originally he would go to bed with me and his pacifier so when we made the change he still had his pacifier to comfort himself with. I also rolled up some blankets and put them by his sides so he felt snug. I have since switched to a sleep positioner. I think we got lucky because we did this sooner rather than later.

One thing I never understood, mothers say it's easier to have them in your bed for breastfeeding but I still found myself having to get up when he ate to change his diaper so I never saved myself much sleep.

Answer 10

As a mother who has 3 sons,

I would suggest a bassinette at the side of the bed

1st child slept in my bed until he was 8

2nd, still comes into our bed everynight he's 3 , we have to carry him back to his bed

3rd slept in the bassinette and sleeps fine in his crib almost every night.
If it was up to me, just pll the rolling bassinette along side of the bed and feed him and place him back in the bassinette,
if he cries out you can easliy poke your hand into the bassinette and hold his hand if he needs it,

M